Since changing my major to History/Education and minoring in Political Science, I have been asked by countless people why I would ever want to study and teach about history. Many are bored with even the slightest mention of the French Revolution or even how our political system has changed over time. For some, history just isn’t interesting, but for me, history is everything. Since I was a little girl, I always loved learning about our past and how it has affected out future. As a little girl, I was beyond thrilled to tag along with my mom to hear speakers like Eli Wiesel discuss the Holocaust and have lunch with other Holocaust survivors to hear their stories. I believe that the experiences that I had as a little girl shaped who I am because even to this day I am eager to hear about where someone is from and what their story is. I love expanding my knowledge about people and places. Getting to speak to an actual human being who saw and experienced everything firsthand that you read in your history textbook is unlike anything else in this world. I am always eager to incorporate my knew found knowledge from their experiences into my discussions on the topic later on. Personal accounts make history more relatable.
Now believe me. There are times that I find history a bit boring. Yes, even I cringe anytime I hear “today we are learning about Eli Whitney and the cotton gin.” I really don’t know why, and could probably never tell you why I hate talking about Eli Whitney, but I just do. But if someone mentions World War II, they better be ready to commit to sitting down with me and having a wonderful conversation about the ins and the outs of this fascinating time in history. I am always curious to know what others think about certain times in history and what their prior knowledge is. It is impossible to know everything about every historical happening that took place on this earth, but I feel that every time you learn even one new piece of information from someone else that expands your world view and knowledge, you grow as a person and as a student. We are students from the day we are born until the day we take our last breath. You are never too good or too smart to learn something new.
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I am proud to call myself a history buff. I’m a nerd, and I’m not even a little ashamed. It is part of who I am and who I will continue to be. Although my identity now is a student, in the future my identity will be a history teacher. I will wear that title proudly as a badge of honor. I will never stop being a student. You can’t be a teacher and refuse to be a student. But it is my hope that one day I can change how people view history. It is my aim to show them that history is not just about learning about our past, it is also about learning how we can better our future. History repeats itself, so the better equipped we are with the knowledge of our past, the better we will be with changing our future.
